Jurisdiction Boundary Marking Act
This proposed federal act has not yet been introduced. Readers are
urged to support doing so.
Introduction
The Constitution, in Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 17 prescribes that the U.S.
Congress shall have exclusive legislative jurisdiction only over parcels of
territory ceded to them by an act of a state legislature. An inventory of
such parcels was taken and reported in a 1956 report entitled
Jurisdiction over Federal Areas within the States. Many federal statutes,
including most criminal statutes, apply only within the boundaries of such
parcels, which are sometimes referred to as "federal enclaves", but few
such enclaves have their boundaries marked to give persons due notice
of the jurisdiction into which they are entering. This creates an issue of
whether such jurisdiction may be legitimately exercised, in the absence of
such notice. The proposed act would remedy this deficiency.
Proposed provisions
Within 180 days of the enactment of this act, each official with
administrative authority over any federal enclave established under
Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 17 shall mark the boundaries of such enclave
with appropriate markers, and with signs which identify the
boundary, showing which side is under federal jurisdiction, and
which under state jurisdiction, and warning a person crossing the
boundary of which jurisdiction he is entering.
If such enclave is not marked as prescribed above within 180
days of enactment, or if, having been thus marked, the markings
are removed, or not adequately maintained for more than 90
days, federal jurisdiction will terminate and revert to the state from
which it was ceded.
The boundary of such enclave shall not be marked unless and until
the responsible official has:
1.Determined that the federal government has clear title to the
property, as evidenced by a recorded deed, specifying the
metes and bounds of the property.
2.Determined that an official, certified copy of the act of the
state legislature that consented to the purchase or
ownership of the property, and ceded jurisdiction thereto,
has been filed with the U.S. Department of State, and that
such act specifically defined the property ceded by a metes
and bounds description.
3.Determined that a declaration of acceptance of jurisdiction
by the U.S. federal government has been duly issued,
signed by the President or the Secretary of State, conveyed
to the ceding state legislature or state official designated by
state law, and filed with the Secretary of State.
4.Identified the boundary markers of a survey of the
property, or had the property re-surveyed if they cannot be
found.
The appropriate markers shall depend on the nature of the terrain,
but may include:
1.A painted stripe or engraved line.
2.A fence or wall.
3.A natural obstacle, such as a river or cliff face.
4.Any other boundary marker in common use to clearly
identify property lines.
The signs shall be placed so that anyone entering the enclave
along any route will be able to see one under normal daytime
lighting conditions.
Argument
The markers and signs would provide the duly required notice of
jurisdiction to persons, without which they cannot be justly
prosecuted, and which would help clarify which courts and
statutes would have jurisdiction in all civil and criminal cases.
The markers and signs would duly inform state and federal
officials of the boundaries of their respective jurisdictions.
The markers and signs would stimulate the public to become
better informed about the differences between federal and state
jurisdiction and enable them to make better decisions about their
conduct within each.
The requirement would operate to remove legal ambiguities and
impairments to federal and state jurisdictions, and thereby avoid
illegitimate official actions and reduce litigation over such
ambiguities and impairments.